Google’s voice search may be recording your conversations

You would be forgiven for thinking that your private conversations were just that, but Google‘s Voice Assistant could be recording everything you say.

The feature is designed to allow users to talk to enabled gadgets to search the web, launch apps and use other interactive functions.

As part of this process, Google keeps copies of clips made each time you activate it, but it has emerged that background chatter could be enough to trigger recording.

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You would be forgiven for thinking that your private conversations were just that, but Google’s Voice Assistant could be recording everything you say. Google keeps copies of clips made each time you activate it, and background chatter (pictured) could be enough to trigger this

HOW TO DELETE YOUR ACTIVITIES

This will enable you to see all the information Google has stored on the history of your account.

To delete any, click on the three dots in the top right corner and choose ‘Delete activity by’.

This will take you to a window where you can pick if you would like to delete any information.

The Mountain View firm has been keen to push its Voice Assistant in recent weeks, which was a headline feature at the launch of a range of new Pixel smartphones and Home smart speakers in October.

It is also enabled on a large number of handsets running the Android operating system, developed by the Google.

The firm previously released a My Activity feature that reveals exactly how much information the company has collected about you, through your activities online.

What some people may be unaware of is that the Voice and Audio section includes recordings of your voice.

These are made when you trigger the voice assistant, which may happen inadvertently during conversations or by pressing buttons on a Voice Assistant enabled device without your knowledge.

One example from an anonymous user appears to have registered their conversation about technology.

A written transcript of the conversation said: ‘Mate. We’re living in the future. I’ve just installed a game through the Steam app remotely on my PC in London from my Pixel.’

Another clip from the same person appears to have captured them saying ‘F*** off’ to someone.

Google’s support site says that the firm records your voice and other audio, plus a few seconds before, when you use audio activation.

This includes saying commands like ‘OK Google’ or tapping the microphone icon.

Your audio is saved to your account only when you’re signed in and Voice & Audio Activity is turned on. Audio can be saved even when your device is offline.

The Mountain View company says it uses your Voice & Audio Activity to learn the sound of your voice and how you say words and phrases.

One example from an anonymous user appears to have registered their conversation about technology. Another clip from the same person appears to have captured them saying ‘F*** off’ to someone

Other examples submitted by users include what appear to be voice activated searches for recipes, like a feta and tomato omelette

They also reveal some of the problems users may experience being understood, as demonstrated by this repeated Halloween inquiry on how to carve a pumpkin, with Voice Assistant confused over what is being said

GOOGLE VOICE RECORDING

Google’s support site says that the firm records your voice and other audio, plus a few seconds before, when you use audio activation.

This includes saying commands like ‘OK Google’ or tapping the microphone icon.

Your audio is saved to your account only when you’re signed in and Voice & Audio Activity is turned on. Audio can be saved even when your device is offline.

The Mountain View company says it uses your Voice & Audio Activity to learn the sound of your voice and how you say words and phrases, as well as to improve speech recognition across it products.

It is also used to improve speech recognition across it products.

To see your saved audio, sign in with your Google account information.

This will enable you to see all the information Google has stored on the history of your account.

To delete any, click on the three dots in the top right corner and choose ‘Delete activity by’.

This will take you to a window where you can pick if you would like to delete any information.

This is not the first time that the voice search function has landed the firm in hot water.

In October, users uncovered a quirk in some models of the Home Mini which meant that the gadget was constantly monitoring and recording their speech.

To address concerns over the vast amount of data gathered by Google, it released its ‘My Activity’ feature in June 2016.

If users have not configured their settings to avoid it, the data could include a list of all the website they have visited and what they have used their phone to do.

But the feature also enables users to delete records of their online search requests and videos watched on YouTube in a single location instead of having to visit different websites or apps.

The page shows a catalogue of pages visited, things searched and other activity, grouped by time.

It also lets people look at the same timeline through filters looking at specific dates, and specific products like Google search and YouTube.

If users have not configured their settings to avoid it, the data could include all the websites they have visited and their voice activity (pictured)

The company is tying to make it easier for users to manage the vast pool of information that it collects about their online activities across phones, computers and other devices.

It keeps track of everything you have searched for in Google’s search engine, links you have clicked on after searches and even Google Map searches.

To find out what information the firm has on your online activity, visit Google’s My Activity page.

Sign in with your Google account information and this will enable you to see all the information Google has stored on the history of your account.

To delete any, click on the three dots in the top right corner and choose ‘Delete activity by’.

This will take you to a window where you can pick if you would like to delete any information.

The Mountain View firm has been keen to push its Voice Assistant in recent weeks, which was a headline feature at the launch of a range of new Pixel smartphones (pictured) and Home smart speakers in October

This is not the first time that the voice search function has landed the firm in hot water. In October, users uncovered a quirk in some models of the Home Mini which meant that the gadget was constantly monitoring and recording their speech

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